Currently, recycling programs are being politically mandated as environmentally sound. Much recyclable waste, such as household waste products, is being collected. Some comes from single-family homes. Other waste, a significant amount of about forty-two percent, is being generated in high-rise buildings.
The most basic form of recycling involves separation of recyclable from non-recyclable at a transfer station. Recyclable may be metal, glass, plastic, paper, or other materials that can be reused. Typically, the homeowner or high-rise dweller just throws the recyclable mixed with other organic material, etc. in a garbage can or chute (high-rise). The contents of the garbage can are then loaded into a garbage truck, usually with compaction capability. In the high-rise building, the garbage may be collected in large bins, which are then loaded into the compaction truck. The compacted waste, including both recyclable and non-recyclable, is then transported to a transfer station.
At the transfer station, the trucks are unloaded and the waste, including recyclable, is spread out for sorting. By various means, the recyclable are removed, categorized, and placed into intermediate storage areas or bins. For example, aluminum, which currently is in the greatest demand, is placed in one storage location. Other metals are placed in another. Glass is placed in another, and plastic is placed in yet another. Paper is placed in another. What remains of the waste after removal of recyclable is then loaded onto transfer vehicles such as on-highway trucks for transport to landfill facilities. Alternatively, trains may be used to transport the waste where longer distances to the landfill are involved.
A problem with the just-described system is that the recyclable are contaminated by the other components of the raw garbage. This may lower the value of the recyclable, as some must be discarded, and others cleaned prior to re-use.
Another problem is that of high cost. This cost is both in terms of labor and equipment. Complex equipment is needed to sort the recyclable from the rest of the waste. Such equipment may include electromagnetic means for separating the ferrous metal from non-ferrous metal, such as aluminum. Regardless of the amount of equipment used, expensive hand labor ultimately must be resorted to for a portion of the recyclable.
Still another problem is that of the working environment for the hand labor. At the very best, it is unpleasant. At worst, it can be hazardous to worker health and well-being.
In an attempt to ameliorate some of these problems, advances in recycling have been made. One such advance is the so-called "Blue Bag" program that has been used in Pittsburgh and other United States East Coast cities. With this system, the consumer places the recyclable in a separate plastic bag of a blue color. The bags are very thick and the recyclable can only be compacted to about a 2:1 ratio as opposed to about 6:1 that can be achieved with conventional garbage compaction trucks. This system has a cost disadvantage, since more trucks or runs are needed for pickup than with other systems. Also, it is easy for operators to overcompact, which results in breaking of the bags and consequent undesired mixing of the contents with the raw garbage, thus destroying or substantially reducing its value as a recyclable.
Another such advance is to provide the consumer with several containers in addition to the normal garbage can or bin so that the customer may do the initial separation and classification of the recyclable. One such system provides three stacking box containers of plastic material. These are for: (1) aluminum and plastic; (2) glass; and (3) paper (e.g., newspaper). With this system, a special collection truck having three bins on a side arrives before or follows after the normal garbage truck. The individual boxes are hand dumped into the appropriate bin on the side of the recyclable collection truck, and the truck driven to a transfer station where it is unloaded into appropriate storage bins or areas as with the previous system.
This advanced system, which is coming into increasing use, has its problems. It is still costly. Now a second truck is required, which essentially doubles the vehicles and personnel required for collection from the customer.
It is also inefficient in that many recyclable collection trucks do not have compactor capability. Thus, recyclable trucks are less densely loaded than normal garbage compactor vehicles.
It may also be less convenient to the customer where the boxes are required to be taken out to the curb rather than being picked up at the side or back of the customer's house, as with some waste pickup systems. As with anything placed at the curb, the boxes may invite theft or vandalism. Theft of the valuable recyclable, such as aluminum, can severely negatively impact the economics of recycling programs. The initial negative economic impact is on the collection company. This later transfers through to the customer in that the loss is reflected in higher garbage collection bills.
Aesthetically, the boxes at the curb are considered unsightly by some. They must also be placed at the curb on the appropriate day and retrieved after the collection truck has passed. If the homeowner plans to be away, the boxes may have to be put out a day or more early, or the pickup simply missed. If missed, more than one collection period worth of recyclable will have to be stored by the customer until the next pickup. All of these problems make the customer less likely to be a willing participant in recycling.
Still another problem being encountered with any recycling system is selling the collected recyclable. There may, in fact, be no spot market for certain recyclable at a given time. Or the spot market price may be too low to be economic. This gives rise to the need to be able to store classified recyclable until the market can achieve a high enough price that selling the recyclable makes economic sense.
Another problem is the need to be able to collect and store a sufficient quantity of recyclable to make it economically worthwhile to build necessary reclamation plants. With plastic, for example, it is desirable to have up to four year's worth of recycled plastic on hand to make it worthwhile to build such a plant. Obviously, this necessitates a great deal of storage space.
Still another problem is being able to identify the classified recycled material so that automated equipment can be used in processing.